Louisiana Voter Registration Information

Primary Election
March 24, 2012

Primary Election Voter Registration Information
February 22, 2012

General Election
November 6, 2012

General Election Voter Registration Information
October 8, 2012

Voter Registration and Eligibility
Must register to vote 30 days before the election.
Party changes must be done 30 days prior to an election.

QUALIFICATIONS

To register to vote in Louisiana, you must:

• Be a United States citizen
• Be at least 17 years old but must be 18 years old prior to next election to vote
• Not be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony
• Not be under a judgment of interdiction for mental incompetence
• Reside in the state and parish in which you seek to register

OBTAINING A VOTER REGISTRATION FORM

Can register to vote in person or obtain a mail-in application from:

• Parish election office (contact information)
• Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicle offices
• Louisiana Department of Social Services offices and WIC offices, Food Stamp offices, and Medicaid offices
• Offices serving persons with disabilities, such as the Deaf Action Centers and Independent Living offices
• Armed Forces Recruitment offices

Note: If you move parishes, you must re-register to vote. Registration is non-transferable. 

Obtain an online voter registration application here.

Mail or hand deliver your application to the appropriate Registrar of Voters office. The Registrar of Voters can accept faxed voter registration applications ONLY from a member of the United States military service or a person residing outside of the United States.

LOUISIANA ABSENTEE BALLOTS

Who Can Absentee Vote in Louisiana?

In Person:
You do not need a reason to vote early.  All voters may vote early, just like they are voting on Election Day.

Voters who want to vote early for any election may do so in person at their parish Registrar of Voters office from fourteen days to seven days prior to any scheduled election.

When you go to your parish Registrar of Voters office to cast your vote, be sure to take a driver's license, a Louisiana Special I.D., or some other generally recognized picture I.D.  The Registrars will open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for each day of early voting.

You may wish to contact your local Registrar of Voters office for specific dates and times.

By Mail:The following persons, otherwise qualified to vote, who expect to be out of the parish on election day, may vote absentee by mail:

The following persons, otherwise qualified to vote, who expect to be out of the parish on election day, may vote absentee by mail:

• members of the United States Armed Service or a spouse or dependent;
• students, instructors, or professors in an institution of higher learning located outside of their parish of registration, and live outside of their parish, or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith;
• ministers, priests, rabbis, or other members of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside of their parish of registration, or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith;
• those who are or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or outside of their parish of registration during the early voting period and on election day;
• those who have moved their residences to another parish more than 100 miles from the parish seat of their former residence after voter registration books closed;
• those who are involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside of their registration parish and who are not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent;
• A person residing outside the United States
• those who expect to be hospitalized on election day and either were hospitalized or expect to be hospitalized during the early voting period, or did not learn that they would be hospitalized until after the early voting period expired, or were hospitalized and released but restricted to bed by their physician during the early voting period and on election day;
• those who expect to be out of their precinct upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on election day because of their employment or occupation (e.g., working offshore);
• those who are approved for the Special Handicap Program and are living at home, not in a nursing home
• those who are incarcerated in an institution inside or outside their parish of registration and are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony;
• those who are 65 years of age or older; or
• those who have a mobility impaired identification card issued by the office of motor vehicles (include a copy of mobility impaired I.D. card with your application

How Can I Acquire an Absentee Ballot?
By Mail:
To request an absentee ballot by mail, the voter must complete and return a Request for Absentee Ballot Form by mail, indicating the reason you are not able to vote in person absentee or in person on Election Day. This form is available at your parish Registrar of Voters office or online here.

Military personnel should check with their commanding officers who will provide the forms to request absentee ballots.

Additional Information for Overseas Voters

In Person:
Voters who want to vote early for any election may do so in person at their parish Registrar of Voters office from fourteen days to seven days prior to any scheduled election.  Refer to the Schedule of Elections for early voting time periods for upcoming elections.

When you go to your parish Registrar of Voters office to cast your vote, be sure to take a driver's license, a Louisiana Special I.D., or some other generally recognized picture ID.  The Registrars will maintain regular office hours, remaining open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for each day of early voting.

You may wish to contact your local Registrar of Votersoffice for specific dates and times

How do I Return the Absentee Ballot and What is the Deadline?

The deadlines for returning the absentee ballot to the Registrar of Voters are as follows:
For military personnel: Election Day
For U.S. citizens residing outside the United States: Election Day
For all other voters: Day before Election Day

Source of information:
Louisiana Secretary of State
Elections Division
8585 Archives Avenue
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9125
Phone: 225-922-0900
Fax: 225-922-0945
E-mail: [email protected]

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/Home/Elections/tabid/68/Default.aspx

PROTECT YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
BY EXERCISING YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!